


slip the surly bonds of earth

by thedeadparrot



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Gen, Space Exploration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-01-12
Updated: 2009-01-12
Packaged: 2017-10-02 04:31:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedeadparrot/pseuds/thedeadparrot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Radek learns to dream.</p>
            </blockquote>





	slip the surly bonds of earth

**Author's Note:**

> This was going to be hannahrorlove's ficlet, but it morphed into something else and turned into a sort of love letter to my undying adoration of the space program. Also, this was supposed to be this whole epic AU around it but that got chopped when I realized that the only bits I really wanted were these two scenes. Many thanks to queenzulu for audiencing.

One sunny summer afternoon, Rodney's father takes them both to Cape Canaveral to watch the launch of the space shuttle Discovery. On the way there, Rodney spends most of the drive spouting facts about engines and computer systems that Radek ignores as he leans his head against the glass and stares outside. Radek's English is still not very good, and the smell of Dr. McKay's cigarettes reminds him, paradoxically, of Prague. He feels homesick.

As they step out of the car, Radek wishes he weren't here, feeling out of place. This is Rodney's obsession, not Radek's. Rodney is the one who loves rockets, and Radek follows him simply because he doesn't know anyone else his age in America.

"We should hurry so we get a good spot," Dr. McKay says, and Rodney hops up and down in agreement.

There is already a crowd starting to form as they reach the observation deck, but they let Radek and Rodney through so that they can stand at the front, right up against the fence. Summers in Florida are hot, humid, and Radek's palms are sweaty, and the sun is high in the sky. His shirt sticks to his back.

"Look, there it is," Rodney whispers, pointing. The shuttle in front of them looks small, too far away. Radek imagines where it is going, up beyond the atmosphere, so high they can see the Earth as no one else can, a planet spinning in space. Anticipation catches in his throat, surprising and sudden. He wants to see this, he realizes. He wants to see how it happens, too.

Rodney begins to speak, but Radek says, "Shhhhh," and much to Radek's surprise, he shuts his mouth.

Together, they hold their breaths and press their faces up against the fence.

A countdown starts over the loudspeakers, _ten, nine, eight, seven,_ as they hear the faintest rumble, growing louder, smoke beginning to pour from underneath the shuttle, flowing outwards. It forms a cloud underneath the shuttle, gray and billowing, seeming to prepare for what is to come. It is beautiful in a way that Radek has never thought of before, full of leashed potential.

_Six, five, four_, as the sound gets louder and the smoke pours out faster and they hold their breaths tighter. Radek's almost afraid to watch. Rodney grabs his arm.

_Three, two one, liftoff._

The shuttle rises from the ground, trailing bright orange light and gray smoke. It flies, flies upward and upward into the clear blue sky, and they squint as it becomes smaller and smaller and smaller, until it is just a tiny black speck against that perfect, endless blue, and then eventually, nothing at all.

Radek isn't sure of what to make of it, but it feels as though a seed has been planted inside of him, just waiting to grow.

"Wow," Rodney says.

"Yes, quite," Radek agrees.

* * *

It is not until years and years have passed that Radek thinks back on that day and remembers how it felt to stand there, to look up into the space and dream of how big it was, how infinite it seemed.

When he was little and in Prague, he never saw the stars, hidden as they were by the light pollution all around him, and when he was bigger and in Florida, he saw them too much, peering through a telescope in the McKays' backyard, Rodney's elbow digging into his ribs as they jostled for position at the eyepiece. They were inseparable in those days, full of shared dreams and ambition, and some say they still might be.

He thinks of that now, as they stand side-by-side, watching as the gate dials in front of them. The first symbol, then the next and the next. Radek can hear Rodney counting down under his breath, _eight, seven, six_, his fingers tight around the straps of his bag. Radek can read his every twitch, and he understands it because he feels it too. They are on the verge, just about to tip over the edge, and Radek is relishing it all, because this is more than he had ever hoped for.

_Five, four, three,_ and Radek takes one last look around at this gateroom, the gateroom he has never set foot into until this moment. He takes note of the grim, beige walls, the black and yellow warning tape, and the glass of the control room above them. He thinks he may miss them the tiniest bit on the other side. The expressions of the other members of the expedition match Radek's, full of apprehension and fear and wonder. They are doing what no one has done in a very long time, and they know that. They understand that.

_Two, one,_ Rodney mutters, and they hold their breaths together as the wormhole engages, shooting outwards in a glorious plume before flattening, stabilizing.

Over the loudspeakers, Radek can hear the voice of one of the base personnel giving directions, but he is not listening to it. He is looking at the surface of the wormhole, a beautiful shimmering blue, not quite that of a summer sky, but it evokes a similar feeling in him, and he can still feel the sweat on his back, the tangy aftertaste of the lemonade Rodney couldn't drink. Rodney's hand brushes his as they wait their turn, a reassuring point of contact between them. He is tense, nervous, jittery, but Radek would expect nothing less from him.

Group by group, the others step through, vanishing at the event horizon.

When it is Radek's turn, he waits a moment in front of the gate, not looking backwards but forwards, at the surface of the wormhole, towards the stars he's seen from afar his whole life. Then he takes his own step forward and disappears into the blue.

 

FIN.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [slip the surly bonds of earth (Podfic)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/779819) by [mific](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mific/pseuds/mific)




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